TARİHİ YARIMADA BÜTÜNLÜĞÜNDE I. TEPE VE TARİHİ TOPOGRAFYASI

          FIRST HILL ON HISTORICAL PENINSULA AND ITS HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHY

Established in 657 B.C. by the Megarian colonists at the edge of the Historic Peninsula, Byzantion formed the core of the urban structures that has survived to the present day.               After Byzantion came under the rule of the Roman Empire, it is seen that the Hippodrome and the road called Mese began to form, as well as waterways and some infrastructure in the city.

It is thought that the walls, built by Septimus Severus and drawing an arc to include the Hippodrome, followed the ridge line on the slope facing the Marmara and headed towards the Acropolis hill and reached the coast from the east of today’s Hagia Sophia and joined the sea walls. Starting from 325 A.D. , the construction of Constantinople, which was the eastern capital of the Roman Empire, began to take shape within the framework of a certain program. Reflections of a certain hierarchical order can be seen in the function centers and spatial organization of the city, which is divided into 14 regions. The end zone of the settlement extending towards the Marmara and the Bosphorus forms the acropolis and houses the palace and other administrative-public buildings. While the immediate surroundings of the acropolis constitute the areas where the rulers and aristocracy settled, there are neighborhoods where the middle class is inhabited in the areas extending to the west.  During the Constantine period, the main structures of the city were preserved, but the wall line built by Septimus Severus of ancient Byzantion was expanded. While the long south-facing façade of the Hippodrome integrates with Kathisma and the Great Palace, it is seen that some other important structures were built on the north and northwest directions.

The archaeological remains in Buru are located on the northwest slope of the first hill and the area in question forms the fourth district of the province.  In general, the area starting from Million Stone, bordered by Alemdar Street, Bab-ı Ali Street and Ankara Street and extending to Prosforion Harbor, presents a location that includes the neighborhoods of Alemdar and Hocapaşa. The main buildings in the fourth area are the Augustaion Forum, the Imperial Palace, Constantine’s Palace, Chalke, Basilica, Basilica Cistern, Million Stone, Temple of Poseidon, Menas Church, Timasius Pier, stadiums and porticuses, and the building called Chalkoprateia which hosts many statues such as Venus of Knidos (aphrodite), Hera of Samos, Athena of Lindos, winged Eros, Olympian Zeus, Saturnus (Kronos) and a monoceros tigris.

STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE REMAINS ON BLOCK NO. 55, PLOT NO. 33

It was determined that some building remains were found during the foundation excavation that took place in Istanbul Province, Fatih District, Alemdar District, block no. 55 and plot no. 33. However, it is understood that the remains found on the plot in question were not noticed for the first time, and it was registered with the decision of the Protection Board dated 04.05.1995 and numbered 6555, although no detailed information is given, except for the 3-storey reinforced concrete building on it. The remains concentrated at two main points of the T-shaped plot are located on the border forming the Şengül Hamami Street and in the recess on the Salkım Söğüt Street. (R.5) In the next part of the report, the remains on the side of Salkım Söğüt Street will be referred to as Remain No. 1, and the remains on the side of Şengül Hamam Street will be referred to as Remain No. 2.

REMAIN NO. 1

Remain No. 1, located in the recess on Salkım Söğüt Street, is located at approximately (-5.80) elevation and spreads over a fairly wide area measuring 7.80×9.97 meters. Within the recess of the plot extending towards Salkım Söğüt Street, the mass close to the plot border in the north direction is approximately 1.80 m wide and 0.50 m. It is in the form of a wall remain in height. In the remains of the wall, in which leaf bricks were used in general, a large unprocessed stone and elements of Khorasan mortar of the recent period attract attention. The remains of the wall in question continues under the neighboring building to the side.  This part of Remain No. 1, which extends parallel to the border of the neighboring plot , is approximately 7.50 m long and forms a stepped mass with varying thicknesses from the base to the top. In the lower part, which is wider, the mesh material could not be determined exactly. However, the tile-colored texture of the interior facing surface shows that it was plastered with Khorasan. It is also thought that the filled part at the lower edge where the plastered surface meets the ground may indicate a curved turn. While the mass rising backwards on the said part gives a smooth wall texture on the inside, it is seen that a section at the back is extremely formless and undefined. This irregularity on the back of the wall probably indicates a deterioration caused by the construction activities taking place on the adjacent plot. The wall, which is retracted and extends parallel to the border of the neighboring plot, exhibits a texture that starts with a row of stones and continues with leaf bricks. The stones at the bottom are approximately 0.65×0.43 m in size and are in the form of regularly shaped large blocks. In the brick masonry, bricks of different sizes ranging from 0.17-0.19 m are also seen, but it is understood that 0.35-0.37 meters of leaf bricks are used in general. The remain extending parallel to the adjacent parcel boundary terminates in an expanding mass. As in the other parts, this mass, which is built with leaf bricks, makes a small protrusion on the inside and the corner that joins the wall turns in a curved way. The curved turns in the mass extending parallel to the border of the adjacent parcel of Remain No. 1 indicates that it may be associated with a water structure.

REMAIN NO. 2

The remains on the side of Şengül Hamami Street sit at (-8.20) elevation and rise to (-5.59) meters in an irregular way. Although the existing remains expand to the sides adjacent to the plot’s edge, it is certain that there were significant losses on both sides and the structure associated with the remains settled on a wider area. Actually, although there was a great destruction due to the previous construction in plot no. 33, it is estimated that the remains in question continue towards the bottom of Şengül Hamamı Street. Remain No. 2, which gives quite irregular contours at the base, exhibits a more definable situation as it rises. The ruins, shaped as a broad-based mass up to approximately (-6.40 meters), narrows from this level and continues as a wall leaning on Şengül Hamami Street. In the broad-based lower part of the remain no. 2, which extends along Şengül Hamamı Street, protrusion-shaped masses are seen. Although it is not known exactly that these masses are systematically repeated in a way that can be associated with the function or architectural features of the building, it can be thought that a bath structure indicates a HYPOCAUST system. As a matter of fact, the plastered surfaces of the ruin no. 2, which was built with 37x37x4 cm leaf bricks using Khorasan mortar, also supports this idea.